Government troops seized war materiel and personal belongings after separate clashes against New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the province of Zamboanga del Norte on Dec. 3, a top military official said Saturday. Brig. Gen. Leonel Nicolas, 102nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the first clash broke out in Barangay Linabo, Polanco, Zamboanga del Norte at about 8 a.m. on Friday. The troops of the 97th and 42nd Infantry Battalions were tracking down a group of NPA rebels when the encounter took place. The NPA fighters who figured in the Linabo clash belong to the Guerilla Front Big Beautiful Country (GF
The World Trade Organization (WTO) launched on Thursday the Trade4MSMEs website, a tool aimed at helping micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) find trade-related information and improve their abilities to trade internationally. The Trade4MSMEs platform (https://trade4msmes.org/) was also developed to support policy makers and researchers in designing measures tailored to the needs of small companies. The new platform, launched by WTO’s Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, will allow small businesses to access a diverse range of trade information brought together from a variety of sources. The website has two main sections: MSME Resources and Policymaker Resources.
Filipinos stranded abroad due to travel restrictions amid threats of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus are urged to contact the nearest Philippine Embassy or Consulates to join the earliest flight to Manila. Based on the Department of Foreign Affairs’ (DFA) latest monitoring, about 50 Filipinos in Europe and 49 others in South Africa were stranded since the announcement of countries included in the red list. “(T)his is a little bit complicated so we need the cooperation of our kababayans because they have to transfer from one country to another to be able to join the repatriation flight,” Foreign Affairs
Some 235 houses were razed in a two-hour fire that engulfed a village in Isabela City, the capital of Basilan province, on Saturday. Lt. Col. Julpikar Sitin, Isabela City Police Station commander, said the fire broke out around 9 a.m. in Barangay Kaumpurnah Zone 1 and was controlled after two hours. Sitin said the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is investigating the origin of the blaze that rendered some 500 families homeless. Initial investigation showed the fire started from one of the houses in the barangay and rapidly spread to nearby houses mostly made of light materials and reached the
Ten fully vaccinated vendors from the coastal municipality of Milagros in Masbate province not only got protection from severe Covid-19 symptoms. They also received new bicycles and mobile phones under the “Bikecination” project of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Bicol. Johan Vi Gasga, DOLE Bicol spokesperson, said on Saturday the PHP25,000 Kabuhayan Starter Kits include the bicycle with complete accessories such as signal light, carrier, rear rack, insulated delivery bag, helmet, among others. The mobile phone comes with a SIM (subscriber identification module) card loaded with PHP4,000. “Providing sustainable livelihood to informal vendors who struggle for a living
Unless disqualified by law, the right to suffrage does not distinguish who is vaccinated or not. Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon thus urged even unvaccinated voters to exercise their rights in the May 9, 2022 national and local polls. “Vote even if you are not vaccinated @COMELEC,” she posted on her Twitter account @rowena_guanzon on Saturday. “If you have symptoms when at the precinct, you will vote in the isolated polling place. Your vote will be counted,” she added. Comelec earlier said voters who will exhibit Covid-19 symptoms on election day will be ushered into isolated booths. Those
